Stuck in an Apartment Rut!

I am dying to do a million things to our lovely little apartment and can't! Why not? Because I have no clue what we are doing!

A couple posts back I mentioned how Jose's mom offered to put a down payment down for us to buy a 2 family house with his brother and his wife. Well, we went searching and looking and touring and NOTHING! Absolutely nothing. When it boiled down to it we realized... they have their taste, we have our taste. They have certain things they are looking for in a house, we have certain things we are looking for in a house. They want a newer house, we don't mind a fixer upper [at all!]. So Jose told his mom his concerns... how he [we] didn't really think this idea was going to go anywhere. Than she had another idea. She would split the money she would have given us all as an entire down payment and give Jose half of it and his brother half of it to go and find our own houses.

Jose didn't want to talk to his brother about it until he spoke with his mom face to face but the thought of us buying our own house has been stuck in our heads ever since. Hmm... our own house? We loved the idea, and whether or not his brother and his wife did they would most likely take the money either way and put it into a savings for their own house one day. But we couldn't afford the other half of the down payment all on our own. Than I remembered!

My grandfather, who has really taken on the "father figure" role in my life since my dad passed away 5 years ago, told me a couple months ago [before us moving out again was even a thought in our mind] that we "had to buy a house!" "now was the time!" "houses are cheap!" But we simply thought that was crazy. Than he threw in "I'll help you with the down payment."

And now his words are ringing in my ears again. Would he be willing to give us the second half of the downpayment? Ultimately now this all boils down to him. I'm going to have the big chat with him on Saturday and see what he will do. If he says no, than we will keep living in our apartment for now. If he says yes, it's time to go house hunting!

Which brings me to why I'm stuck in a rut... I have such a fever to change things in our apartment right now but I don't know if I will or not because until I talk to my grandpa, I won't know if we will move! Ay! Saturday needs to come quick... and grandpa needs to know if he helps us, he will get a HUGE christmas [thank you] gift. And my insides are telling me he will.

I'm just dying to change the carpet in our living room! I'm kinda tired of it... it sucks because we haven't even been living in our apartment for a year but we were in such a rush before to buy things and fill it and make it look cozy that now we are regretting it. Here is our living room now:

And we found this adorable rug at JCpenny for 150! [On sale too!] We both love it :)

And while we're at it. That wall color has GOT to go! I hated it after 5 months of living here! And I have decided it is being replaced by the lovely Oatbran from Valspar.

But the room I'm aching to redo is our computer/music/gym room. Ugh what a mess! The wall color has got to go from this disgusting dark blue [which is much darker than this flash shows]

To this cheery Valspar Summer Splash.

It's going to be accented with yellow and white curtains, yellow and green folders and boxes on the computer desk [from container store, all ready picked out!], and white bookcases and a white day bed or futon down the road.

BUT! None of that will happen until Saturday!! Ugh! Keep your fingers crossed for me!! :) Let's hope my grandpa loves me as much as I think he does [and he said he did!]

How To: Save Some Extra Cash

Jose and I have been spending alot of money lately - especially me on unnecessary things [such as my MAC purchases and my recent trip to Bliss with my best girl friend]. And now it has come to bite us in the ass. Yup we must officially start watching our lira! [italian for money]

The fall is coming and we have ALOT going on in the fall.. such as both our birthdays, our anniversary and halloween. Halloween and Christmas are my absolute favorite holidays [hence The Nightmare Before Christmas now being my favorite disney movie ever] and I can't decide which one I go nuts over more... I'm pretty sure it's Christmas but I feel like I decorate way more over the top for Halloween. And I want to be able to buy some more decorations for Halloween this year, as well as fall since its our favorite season. And we both work for CVS and both put out the fall decor in our stores and got CRAZY excited! We wanted to buy all the cute fall decor all ready...

BUT! We are extremely tight on money. So we have to cut back a little bit and let the money seriously only go to what it needs to [bill, gas and groceries - which we are fair about and cover every other week. This week is mine] We have set out some rules for ourselves and the more I think about it, we've been pretty good with some of them all ready! And some we need to get back on track with. So here is my little HOW TO SAVE SOME EXTRA CASH [more for myself]

1. Stay In More - For the most part Jose and I have got this part down. Other than some friends birthdays' we haven't really gone out too much this summer on weekends which is really good. And although we saw more movies this summer than we have in the past couple months [maybe like 4 lol] we haven't even gone out to do that too much. Only the movies we have been dying to see all year long [like Harry Potter!] But lately we have been noticing the ON DEMAND button on our remote and watching some free movies off cinemax and HBO on demand. The other day we watched ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS which we suprisingly liked alot (and I LOVED alvin and the chipmunks when I was little) and this morning we watched THE ROCKER (which was ok).

2. Eat Out Less - This is a big problem lately, for some reason. And more than anyone, this hurts Jose's wallet since he always insists on paying when we go out. So he said for an entire month we must try to only eat at home. Ay! It's not too hard all ready. Yesterday we made a big breakfast and a nice yummy dinner and were full! This morning so far, bowls of cereal :) and we have a TON of cereal! So I think we'll be okay

3. No Window Shopping! - My problem... because it is never just window shopping. I always end up buying something. And I seriously can not.

4. Walk the Dog - We can do things when we get home from work and do it free and still feel like we did something fun - without spending money! And how do we do that? Walk the dog! We can take our puppy for walks around the town, which we still have to do and really discover, or drive to a different town and go walking around there! Its a fun way to check out new places, do something for the day and still save money. That way we don't feel so BORING.

5. Work More - Simple. Why Work More? Because you get that extra money and even overtime pay which means KA-CHING! Work is not the most fun thing in the world, especially when you're in the same CVS all the time. Luckily I work at 3 different ones so I'm always with new people and different atmospheres [not all CVS's are made the same!]

So there are some 5 simple steps I must tell myself everyday! I MUST! Maybe you've been spending extra money and could take some of my steps. Or not. Either way, I've got to! :)

MAC Makeup Art... Yum!

I am a sucker for all things MAC. So when my best friend Esther told me her friend Lisa [who works for MAC] invited her to an event they were holding I was like "Yup! I'm there!" The event was showing off the upcoming fall collections and you could buy anything you wanted. The upcoming fall collections are the MAC Makeup Art Cosmetics Collection as seen by Richard Phillips, Maira Kalman, and Marilyn Minter.

We walked up to the MAC store to find a line going outside of the store! The event was PACKED! We have been to MAC events before but this was insane! They were passing out yummy hors devours and red wine, white wine and sparkling water. It was crazy. We were waiting outside for about a half hour before we actually got inside and looked at the collections. Needless to say, all of them were gorgeous but the one collection that called to me was Maira Kalman (illustrator) for MAC. Her collection POPPED! and I am all about the popping.

So I bought some pieces... couldn't go nuts cos I couldn't even be buying these pieces! These eyeshadows and eye liners were gorgeous, I couldn't say no.

Star Power:

Maira’s Magic:

Obviously Orange:


Colour Matters:


I have all ready worn all of them and am in love :) and am going back for Haunting! To get an extensive look at this collection and the other fall collections, head over to Temptalia which is seriously the best site out there for beauty! Especially MAC :)

Yearbook Yourself... Right Now!

You have to go to YearbookYourself.com right this minute! If you haven't all ready! lol

Today I walked past my computer room to see my boyfriend hysterically laughing at the computer screen. I walked in and looked at the screen to see this looking back at me:

This is my boyfriend! Generated to look like his yearbook photo was actually from the 50s [he was born in 1982!] lol I could not stop laughing and had to jump on this website and have some fun. It is Yearbook Yourself and you have to try it! It is hysterical and I could not stop laughing. lol Here are some of my favorite pictures.

This is me in the 70s... very Diana Keaton/Annie Hall don't you think? I LOVE this look lol

And in the 50s :)


The late 50s lol

Oh this one is too funny... I think the late 80s. lol

Kelly Kapowski baby!

This one is just weird looking lol

This one said it was YEAR 2000... And I swear, that IS my yearbook photo! lol How sad! I am a typical "2000s" yearbook photo!

Rush over to that site and have a laugh! lol

Limonata Vases :)

I love my mom :) she is always thinking of me and buying little things for me, even though I don't live home anymore. Like the other day when I stopped over her house after she went food shopping and she presented me with a lovely 6 pack of San Pellegrino Limonata. Sparkling Lemon water, yum! Well it was a bit sour but I still liked it!

The little bottles they came in were so cute, I couldn't throw them away! So I went with her to Sam's club, bought a big bouquet of mixed flowers for 20 bucks and voila! A new purpose for my adorable little pellegrino bottles. Here's one bottle on my kitchen counter:

And some more on my cookbooks in the kitchen [actually J's cookbooks :)]


Voila! Some new vases! For what? 10 bucks for 6? Nice score ma!

Fall Is Coming!!

It has begun to get a little breezy here in Jersey and today especially, feels like a nice October Day. Fall is my absolute favorite season [doesn't fall feel more like the "new year" than January does?] But apple and cinnamon candles, leaves turning gorgeous reds, oranges and yellows on trees, pumpkins! Ugh fall is just so beautiful :)

I love everything about more but I love nothing more than doing some new fall clothes shopping! I'm always getting the urge to buy new boots, new sweaters, new everything! So I've been scooping around some sites and found some goodies I might be snagging up for fall!

Every fall I say "I WILL DRESS A BIT PREPPY". My boyfriend has argyle sweaters before I do! But when I found this one from Old Navy I knew I had to have it! I will not let this one slip through my fingers!

Whether its summer, spring, fall or even winter I still love to wear dresses. And this dress from Old Navy is perfect for fall. With some boots and a blazer... its the perfect outfit to go pumpkin picking with! lol

No matter what time of year it is I am ALWAYS cold. The heat is always on on my side of my boyfriends car :) So when fall comes around I want nothing more than a ton of new sweatshirts and zip up hoodies. And over the years through my research and many purchases I have found that seriously American Eagle makes THE BEST hoodies and sweatshirts! Sooo warm, so comfy. All the hoodies and sweatshirts I own are from there! And this one is calling my name:

These boots are to die for! And of course where else will you find them? Piperlime!

What's your favorite season and what is it that calls to your senses when that season rolls around? And what are some things you're looking forward to in the fall? Let me know!

Who's the Boss!?

I am very excited! Esther [my best friend] and I are planning a suprise birthday party for my boyfriend and her husband [who is actually my boyfriend's brother] and we are so excited! It's not a big birthday for either one of them but since their birthdays are 2 days apart we figured why not!? Its going to be at a small bar in Hoboken with a bunch of theirs and our friends and we are gonna get a cake and food and all that good stuff.

Tomorrow I have an appointment to discuss the cake and guess who my appointment is with? None other than the cake boss himself!

Thats right! Buddy from CARLO'S BAKERY SHOP in Hoboken, which is where the TLC show THE CAKE BOSS is! I am very excited to meet with him and discuss our cake ideas :) Since they both love music and are in a band together, we decided on a cake shaped like a pick! The pick im bringing to show him actually looks ALOT like this one:

I am excited and can't wait to hear what his ideas are... but nervous to hear how much this is gonna cost. Now that he is on TV he is in even more demand than he was before and his prices are gonna be insane! Ay! Whatever! We like to spoil our men! [And they love to spoil us right back so maybe we will get some nice birthday presents ourselves this year :) ]

Who put the cookies in the cookie jar??

Wow! 7 followers [accidently including myself so actually 6 followers!] My jaw dropped at the sight of that. How sad is that? But thanks for following me y'all!

Onto my entry!

My mom and I have a thing for cute things. Especially when those cute things come from Pier 1. Pier 1 is one of my favorite stores I just happened to snag one of those cute things for 5 bucks a pop there the other day. Check out these adorable jars with chalkboard paint on the front of it.

I am all about this little chalkboard trend that seems to be going on right now so I snagged these up! And it took me a couple days to actually put something in it - I couldnt decide what I wanted in there! Finally after walking down the cookie aisle at Shop Rite I gave in...

Ooh and do those cookies look yummie in there or what!? I am so excited about these. Jose and I both eat different cookies - I eat the original Chips Ahoy, he prefers the Chewy Chips Ahoy. And he refused to have his in the same jar with mine - yet in the other jar I bought! Such a queen! But here is my one filled jar sitting on my counter now looking all cute :)

And yes that is a canary yellow kitchen countertop you are looking at. Not ours... we rent. Thank god. If this was my kitchen, no way in hell would my countertop be yellow. This is why we are house hounting as we speak :)

Barbara's Bridal Shower!

Today was my older sister Barbara's Bridal shower!! And it was a success! She was totally suprised and had no idea and loved it! So it was perfect! I took a ton of pictures of today and might split these posts into 2 but for now decided this post will show you all the decorations and set up of everything.

This whole shower was very cheap, very diy [since we put all the favors together the other night]. All of us in the family pitched in and bought different foods and drinks, it was a very family run deal and I'm glad it all worked out :)

Us family got there nice and early to set up and here is what we had!

These are the lovely candles my mom prepared the other night:

Everything was set up wonderfully, even the drinks!

Here is my sister Ann's dining room all set up. Notice the hanging hearts and bells from the ceiling!

Here is a white chair my niece had in her room. My mom wrapped it in tulle and sparkly ribbon and done! The yellow sash on the chair is what my sister wore during her shower :)

Here are allll the gifts set up [and the wishing well on the right hand side of the picture]

Here are all our gift bags we put together the other night lined up the stairs. There is white garland going up on the stairs railing too:

Here is a close up of the dining room tables. My mom got a big bouqet of flowers from Sam's club, had a couple vases and just put the flowers together in nice arrangements and of course wrapped the vases in a lovely ribbon she got just for the day :) And that little tuxedo you see there is holding the napkins!

Here is the punch bowl with more tuxedo napkin holders and plastic cups. The punch was pineapple juice, orange juice and sherbert. It was yummie!!!

Here my sister Nicole pointing out the lovely BRIDAL SHOWER sign which hung on the wall

And a close up of the lovely flowers. Around the ribbon at the bottom of the vases we had little chains that had sayings like FAMILY, FRIENDS and CELEBRATE. [another goodie my mom snagged at her job!]

And of course one of the appetizers which I thought looked so cute [and of course was sooo yummie!]

And thats all the decorations!! Maybe later or tomorrow I'll put some pictures up of my sister and my family but I am so exhausted I could pass out!! :) Let me know what you guys think!

Bridal Shower Crafts!

So I have been really busy and haven't had much time on the computer lately. We have been busy looking at 2 family houses so we can get that ball rolling, yesterday I was in the city all day with my best friend getting fabulous facials and massages at Bliss Spa and it was soooo worth the money!! Plus we did some shopping as well :) And than on Thursday night I had gotten together with my sisters [3 including sister in law] and nieces [3] and moms [one is my sisters mom] to prepare for my older sister Barbara's Bridal shower!! Barbara is 39 and finally getting married and we are all soo happy for her so we all got together to make sure it was something she could really enjoy. A couple facts about Barbara and her wedding real quick:

She is marrying Derek, a pastry chef [yuum!]

They are getting married October 18th I believe it is

They are having a very small wedding of about 65 people

It will be taking place at one of the restaurants Derek actually works at [he works at 6, yikes I know]

My older sister Ann Marie is the maid of honor

So there we go and the only facts you really need to know about the bridal shower is it is TOMORROW at Ann's house! Yaay! I can't wait. So we all got together to put the favors together!

Here is the picture in my moms dining room of allll the craft goodies :)

One of the favors was a CD that said Barbara's Shower, including corny [really corny] love songs and I thought it should have SOME songs Barbara actually liked so we got some of that too. My mom designed the cover for it than printed it out and the ribbon is courtesy of Berwick Ribbon, who my mom has been working for for the past 14 years :)

A little thing that is going to be around all of the tables are these lovely pillar candles in 2 shapes, round and heart. My mom was in charge of these - simply wrapping some more ribbon which says BRIDAL SHOWER on it and a ring in the middle. The color theme of the bridal shower was white and silver and the theme was wedding rings since this is what the invitation was.

And another favor we had was candle wrapped in tulle in candle holders. My sister LOVES candles. Than again, all of us ladies do!


My job was simple. Take the gift bads all these favors were gonna be in [along with hershey kisses in little white gift bags] and take these nasty little tags on them:

And replace them with these lovely little thank you tags:

Tada! Beautiful gift bags now! And these bags were seriously this shiny...

Well thats that! Tomorrow is the shower and I'm in charge of taking pictures!! Yaaay! So you'll be sure to see those [hopefully by Monday!] Now I am off to the land of make believe with my 2 boy cousins! Maybe I'll have pictures of that too!